ATM in Osh

Hi,

I'm fairly sure the ATMs in Osh only give you Kyrgyz Som, but there are many private moneychangers in the city where you can buy USD with Kyrgyz Som at very competitive rates. The rates are decent enough to make this a good way to get a hold of USD, and you should find the notes you want (20's and 50's certainly, though 5's and 10's might be a bit more tricky) if you ask around a few shops. Certainly I had no problem finding USD 20's when I was in Osh a couple of years ago.

I didn't use the ATMs in Osh when I was there in Sep 2009. However, I did notice that some ATMS in Bishkek (I can't remember which ones) offered USD withdrawals, and I guess some of the ATMs in Osh belong to those same banks.

If someone can advise which banks in Bishkek have ATMs that dispense USD, you can look for the same types of ATMs in Osh.

Be careful as many ATM in Central Asia offer US Dollar, but when you want to make a withdrawal, they say the dollars have finished. Maybe you already know this, but anyway...

On the other hand, I think you should be able to find some place in the city that can solve this qüestion. Osh is not that little, and there are many banks in the center.

The LP-listed ATM just around the corner from Osh GH issues dollars (Visa and Maestro cards; it diesn't take Mastercard). It only gave out hundreds, from memory.

As previous posters have noted, money changers are the best bets for acquiring the smaller notes, although they don't seem to hang onto them long so you may need to visit several to get all you want.

Remember that small USD notes (20 and down) generally attract a worse exchange rate when you come to get rid of them. Small notes are perfect for paying for visas and OK for that extra dash of cash at the end of your visit, but rely on 50 and 100 dollar notes for most of your currency exchanges.

There is DemirBank ATM in front of the OshNuru hotel in Osh where one can withdraw US Dollars, it gives only 100 dollar notes. Anyway, US Dollar notes smaller than 50 are not respected in Kyrgyzstan and in some places even not accepted.